Chatroom doesn't work.... a thoughtful thread would be so much better...

I'm only on the computer for about three hours a week (not that it matters to anyone else)--this would allow some permanence in the discussion

[quote=nomadicfollower
We need to hurry about this. I'm begginning to forget what I read..[/quote]

yeah that's why i like to read slow & re-read.

currently, besides a lot of work-related technical books, i'm reading "submission" by marthe blau (in translation-- haven't found a french version). rather hot, nothing amazing or revolutionary but the pages turn quickly.

so gogol, gogol, gogol...

let's just post our comments here and fuck meetings. snotrag.

eh hm what's first? i have to work. but one of you post something. :p

The garden scene outside Plyushkin's house was one of the best landscape descriptions I've ever read. Pure genius.

What the fuck, man?

Haha. Apparently the club died.

I'm still on chapter 10, anyway. Is Part 2 worth it? It's incomplete, and that bugs me.

I'm on Chapter 7.

I've been lazy with it, plus the World Cup is whoring my time. After July 9th, or about them. I will begin to finish this beast.

It actually seems pretty short for how thick it is. It seems like hardly anything has happened.

But chapter 9 was by far my favorite. It's almost like he decided to put the plot to the side for a chapter and insult every niche and level of society in as many ways as possible in 23 pages. Hilarious.

I'm awaiting my cyrillic version, for kicks.

You've spoiled chapter 9 for me. aha

hell yes

i made it to chapter 6 yesterday-- took time on a hammock and some bug repellent & some sangria.

my favorite scene so far is at nozdrev's -- the guy is a fucking nut; reminds me of some cokeheads i've known. when he wants to trade him dogs and the "hurdy-gurdy" and all that useless shit-- hilarious.

and at the end of pliushkin's chapter there is this great little narration (im adding emphasis on my favorite turns of phrase):

Having eaten the lightest of suppers, consisting only of a suckling pig, he immediately undressed and, climbing under his blanket, fell into a fast, sound slumber, fell into that marvelous slumber which is know only to those fortunate beings who are bothered neither by hemorrhoids, nor fleas, nor overdeveloped mental faculties.

i almost fell out of the fucking hammock when i read this. the juxtaposition of "hemorrhoids, fleas, overdeveloped mental faculties" is fucking hilarious. the intellect as a plague. yes shakespeare said it with more beauty in hamlet but definitely a lot less humor. well, "conscience makes cowards of us all" is not EXACTLY the same but goes along similar lines... no hemorrhoids however.

what are your favorite passages-- so far?

Not sure I can remember what chapter it was, but the one in which he spends the night at the old lady's house, and trying (but failing) to convince her over and over why it would be a good thing for her to sell her dead souls to him...was enjoyable.

Haha Nozdryov was so believable. That chapter almost made me angry at a few people...

I love the ridiculous exaggeration, too. Like the mattress that almost reached the ceiling at the old lady's house.

Yes! And her peeking at him dressing, while the smell of piss filled the air.

oh yes when he gets pissed off at the old lady & threatens her & says that the devil may take her... oh so funny. that was chapter 3? after he leaves town & gets lost in the rain.


At this juncture Chichikov lost every last shred of patience, picked up his chair, banged it down in exasperation, and hoped the Devil would take her.

The landed proprietress became inordinately frightened of the Devil. "Oh, never mention him, God be with him!" she cried out, turning all pale. "It was only three days ago that i dreamt of him all night long, the accursed one!" etc etc...

that whole part is hilarious.

Haha. Or Sobakevich and his dead souls. That baffled me. Did he think they were alive or what? He was hilarious.

I have to say this is the funniest piece of classic literature I've ever read. If I were a director, this would be my adaptation.

oh man yeah the way he goes on & on about what a great craftstman this was and the other... he really gets a chunk of dough for them by comparison with the others. no wonder he's the more "stout" of them all. his dinner table was pantagruelic. on that note, how much did people fucking eat in those days? really, have you ever seen a suckling pig? i mean you can feed 10 people with one.

I think it was another example of the exaggeration of societal habits. This was only a couple hundred years ago. There's no way it's a literal reflection of anyone. If someone were to write an American satire, I'm sure there would be a character that ate 12 pizzas between lunch and dinner.

i thought so... "the lightest of dinners"-- fucking a

---

ps when pliushkin asks the boy to have the mold cut off the top of the cake- ha h ah ha ha ha ha ha

resurrect

bye

y que paso man? nada?

I've actually started reading again, what with the World Cup over. I'll post about what I've read, and maybe we can organize another chat. Or just post here. Whatever. If anyone else is still reading it....